Infrastructure looks to slow speeding drivers

A series of traffic issues cropped up during Ridgecrest's infrastructure committee meeting on Tuesday over curtailing speed limits around Mesquite High School.

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By Jack BarnwellSTAFF WRITERjbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Ridgecrest Daily Independent - Ridgecrest, CA

By Jack BarnwellSTAFF WRITERjbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Jun. 15, 2013 at 12:18 PM
Updated Jun 15, 2013 at 12:19 PM

By Jack BarnwellSTAFF WRITERjbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Jun. 15, 2013 at 12:18 PM
Updated Jun 15, 2013 at 12:19 PM

A series of traffic issues cropped up during Ridgecrest's infrastructure committee meeting on Tuesday over curtailing speed limits around Mesquite High School.

Mayor Dan Clark brought the item concerning speed limits near Mesquite High to the committee agenda following concerns of close calls.

Clark asked whether the city could place beacons or signals around the area to help curtail excessive speed.

“The cars from the high school are just booking it down the street going both directions,” Clark said. “We almost lost a teacher.”

City Manager Dennis Speer said while school zones allowed an exemption for going through an extensive study for a controlled intersection, beacons provided a more difficult challenge.

“Per law, the beacon is supposed to be active only during the time the danger is present,” Speer said. The time typically included the time zones between 7 and 9 a.m. Speer said schools left them on at all hours.

Speer said an alternative would be utilizing a California Highway Patrol-based program to train members of the school staff as certified crosswalk safety guards.

Controlling the speed limit presented a different area, however, Speer said.

“It's a matter of law enforcement, because irrespective of the normal speed limit, at a school when children are present it is 25 miles per hour,” Speer said.

Mayor Pro Tem Jason Patin, chairing the committee, questioned whether technology would allow for a timer system on beacons and inquired about the cost.

Speer indicated that the ballpark cost for a beacon system to signal a slower speed limit was around $1,500.

Clark directed Speer to look at and possibly justify the $1,500 expense.

“If we can come up with a $1,500 solution so kids don't get hit, I'd be tickled pink,” Clark said. “It would solve so many problems because I know the police get calls on a regular basis for a particular street.”